Paris | Day 4

Perhaps we'll just chalk it up to my poor shoe choice, but today was more of a lazy day. :-)

After a leisurely, decadent breakfast in our park (again, provided by Le Pain Au Naturel) we decided to start with the Louvre. As it turned out, we started and ended with the Louvre.

[our breakfast]



[our fellow feasters, the piegons]


In a word, the Louvre is...overwhelming. Heath and I spent a lot of time discussing how it has so many amazing pieces of art to see, but it's almost too much to take in all at once. It's especially difficult when you're fighting slacker highschool kids for space in front of prime real estate such as the Mona Lisa. You end up in an environment where people are either in your way or you feel like you're in theirs. We tried to spend at least some time in each of the three galleries.






The highlights: The Mona Lisa, of course; Winged Victory of Samothrace; Venus de Milo; the Code of Hammurabi; the Sphinx; and the palace itself.

[highlighted...]






As you now know, we also like to pick some of our own unconventional faves. In addition to feeling a sense of comraderie with the sculpture of Marathon shortly before he died, we enjoyed these pieces:








So, after all these stairs and standing and walking and sidestepping people who don't understand the signs restricting flash photography, my feet and I needed a rest. Heath was happy to oblige, so we found another spot on the Seine which turned into a lovely couple hours in the sun. We kept time by the clock on the Musee d'Orsay across the river and headed to the Metro just in time to make our dinner reservation.





Tonight's dining choice was another Mike&Mary/Michelin guide selection: La Regalade. Another quaint neighborhood spot, we were literally elbow to elbow with another couple — a museum curator from Wellesley College in the states and her very French husband. They were vital in helping translate the fantastic menu.

This was by far my favorite restaurant of the week. Heath had scallops as his first course, followed by a caramelized pork dish and then this decadent chocolate dessert. I had a smoked salmon salad as my first course, this extremely tender beef cheek with carrots and dijon mashed potatoes as my main dish, and then fresh strawberries with a very light cheese. SO GOOD! No, really...SO GOOD!!



[and for those of you wondering, we are intentionally not taking pics of the food itself. we're trying to 'blend' as much as possible...]

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. Tomorrow is our last day and we plan to go out with a bang: The Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs and exploring the Latin Quarter.